checked out hida-takayama city and it's quaint narrow streets where yet again i couldn't help but feast on some of the local specialities; this stall selling dango; sticky rice balls (団子). yum!
also bought some sweet juicy peaches at the local produce market. if i was living back in japan i would have loved to have stocked up on some of the local goods from homemade jams to fresh vegetables to miso paste.
saw lots of these great big balls of...of branches hanging outside liquor stores and the odd up-market restaurant.
k-chan's dad told me that yes, they are branches, but not just any branch, they are made from fresh cedar branches. these balls (called sugidama (杉玉)) are hung outside when a new batch of sake is made.
as the branches die they naturally turn brown. when they are completely brown it means that the sake has fermented and is ready to be sold/drunk.
pretty cool huh!
well i think these balls are pretty cool.
checked into a different japanese-inn where yet again we were lavished with an amazing array of delicate japanese morsels; especially the famous hida-beef.
surprised that raw beef sashimi actually tastes pretty amazing!
i could so have gone for seconds if only there wasn't so much other amazing food to get through!
with my belt-hole loosened a few notched..., we decided to go for a stroll before another hot soak in the onsen.
happened to stumble across a small obon-festival taking place.
great to see both the young and old out dancing in their yukata's and enjoying the warm summers night.
info:
hida-hanaougi inn
411-1 honobu-machi
takayama city, gifu
506-0003 japan
〒506-0003
岐阜県高山市本母町411-1
飛騨亭花扇
2 comments:
wow, i love the sugidama balls. what a genious and fun idea! at some point, some whise guy must have said: let's make a huge ball of cedar branches that changes color and tells us when to drink the sake. haha. i love it!
oh and matsuris are fun too. did you wear a yukata?
* Luuworld
i'm glad you like these sugidama balls too~!
i so wanna try making one! or is that going a bit too far....?!
i would have loved to have worn a yukata to the matsuri but we just happened to stumble across this one. i did prance around in my ryokan-yukata at the inn though!
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